# Gah! Cat who poops on the floor! Wut do?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 14, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437 "2012-08-14T03:59:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/21 "2012-08-14T21:16:00Z")
OK. Answers and details. > [@flatlined](#): > > Are your boxes covered? No. Both are uncovered and have always been uncovered. > [@flatlined](#): > > Oh…and do you give her people food or change out her diet Never…except for her only people food treat - she likes to lick empty yogurt containers. This has been a constant throughout her life. > [@voltaire](#): > > When that cat poops on the floor, is it always the same place, or random? One of two places: 1) either in the bathroom floor immediately outside the closet door which contains the litter boxes or 2) in the floor of the hall immediately outside the bathroom. The two spots are within 6 feet of each other. If there’s a bathmat down, she’ll use it. We never leave the bathmat down anymore. > [@voltaire](#): > > Was anything in the cat’s diet or environment changed when this behavior began? Not that I know of. > [@voltaire](#): > > Was anything in the cat’s diet or environment changed when this behavior began? No! She’s my favorite! We’re huge buddies. Or, we were. ☹ > [@carnut](#): > > I use Feliway spray to discourage either of them from using that particular spot again. I’ll look into this. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/22 "2012-08-14T23:55:29Z")
My cat did this and unfortunately it turned out to be related to megacolon. Had we changed her food and addressed it earlier her few years could have been less painful for us and her. Please rule it out w/ an x-ray, it can be missed w/ palpitation. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/23 "2012-08-15T00:28:40Z")
The first thing you do is get her a nice cat playhouse. After a week or two she will claim it as her own and start getting comfortable in her new living quarters. Then you poop in _her_ nice house. Preferably while yelling, “vengeance is mine!” ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/24 "2012-08-15T02:36:50Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > The first thing you do is get her a nice cat playhouse. After a week or two she will claim it as her own and start getting comfortable in her new living quarters. Then you poop in _her_ nice house. Preferably while yelling, “vengeance is mine!” I love this idea. But I do not relish trying to squat at the top of the cat tree. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/25 "2012-08-15T02:56:04Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > One of two places: 1) either in the bathroom floor immediately outside the closet door which contains the litter boxes or 2) in the floor of the hall immediately outside the bathroom. The two spots are within 6 feet of each other. If there’s a bathmat down, she’ll use it. We never leave the bathmat down anymore. That implies it’s neither malicious or accidental - the cat is \*trying \*to go poop in the box, but just can’t bring herself to do it, most likely due to smell, but also possibly accessibility. You just need cleaner and/or more boxes, or possibly, if you’re lucky, just a different type/size/height of box. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/26 "2012-08-15T03:12:56Z")
> [@Ogre](#): > > One of two places: 1) either in the bathroom floor immediately outside the **closet door which contains the litter boxes** or 2) in the floor of the hall immediately outside the bathroom. The two spots are within 6 feet of each other. If there’s a bathmat down, she’ll use it. We never leave the bathmat down anymore. I agree with **voltaire** , but I’m wondering about the location. The bolding is mine. Does the closet door accidently close? Is it a small closet, so the boxes are side by side? Both or either of those things could be the problem. I’d imagine that 2 boxes side by side in a small closet would be something like a double covered litter box. She is trying to be a good kitty. Please don’t put her out. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/27 "2012-08-15T03:59:16Z")
A lower-traffic area like in the master bedroom or spare bedroom may be agreeable to her. My bathroom is too small for litter pans, so they’re in the bedroom, kitchen, and the living room. (650sq ft 1br apartment) My behaviorist friend often points out that cats want to eliminate in areas where they don’t feel they can get trapped while they’re doing the one task that makes them the most vulnerable. Her suggestion is always to locate a litter box across from a doorway, with more than one escape route - another reason for uncovered boxes and why some cats have aversions to them. Yours may not have actual matching plastic covers, but it sounds like they’re essentially enclosed. Cats are well aware of their size. While they are predators, they recognize that they live in homes with much larger predators (us) and it makes them keenly aware of their possible vulnerability. While the location was perhaps not an issue before toddler arrival, now there’s a new predator in the house who is still bigger than them, is clumsy, and compared to the large adult predators in the house, this one is - crazy. As toddler grows, it’s possible the cat’s unease will also diminish again. In the meantime, consider some minor changes to see if they work for her. People often want the litter pans tucked away all nice and neat and out of mind. Many cats do better with litter boxes in an area where they can jump over at least one side and away if needed. I have one cat that likes to run at my little special needs girl cat whenever she makes too much noise scratching at the sides of the boxes. If she wasn’t able to run in another direction other than straight back out from the box where he’s coming at her, I’m sure I’d be having a problem too. Maybe it’s time to consider some de-cluttering or some furniture rearranging, to see if an additional box or two in another room or two might make a difference. Having the boxes out in the open also encourages daily scooping! ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/28 "2012-08-15T05:37:31Z")
I wouldn’t try the Feliway spray if the cat is pooping on a non carpeted area at this time. If you discourage it from the easy to clean areas it could decide to poop somewhere less convenient. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/29 "2012-08-15T06:20:41Z")
Feliway is a calming synthetic pheromone that mimics the “happy” cheek marking scent. The use for it for inappropriate urination is to spray it 8 inches above the floor in areas where the cat does marking urination. It’s not really meant for poop problems, I don’t think. You are definitely not supposed to spray it or use the plug-in around the litter boxes, since cats don’t “happy” scent mark those places. [www.feliway.com](http://www.feliway.com) gives lots of information. I recommend reading through thoroughly before buying since it’s not cheap and using it incorrectly or for the wrong reasons can really confuse the cat even more. In lieu of reading instructions, I would think the most appropriate thing for this kitty would be a plug-in in a central area like the living room, or in the room she hangs out in the most often. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/30 "2012-08-15T15:14:27Z")
What the other posters said. You don’t want to use Feliway right next to a litter box. It does seem to work for my long-haired cat’s pooping problems though. He now does the butt scoot on a cheap rug near the litter box instead of dragging the poop to drop it at another location. I’m happy with this. The rug can be washed and I won’t lose much by throwing it out and replacing it when the time comes. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/31 "2012-08-15T17:00:03Z")
If you have three cats and two boxes, you need to scoop the boxes out at least daily, more often if possible. Completely change the litter (and scrub out the boxes) at least every two weeks, more like every week and a half. (Source: Having multiple cats and two litterboxes for years.) Feliway really helped with my most neurotic kitty. The diffusers were easy to use. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/32 "2012-08-16T14:55:15Z")
OK, we’re trying to suss out the specific issue. We’ve scrubbed the boxes out, refilled them, and put one into an open space (I’m sorry, but we don’t have any room for a third one. Can’t do it.) We had poop in the usual unauthorized place yesterday, but none today! Fingers crossed. Thanks for the advice and suggestions! ---
**Author:** ![slightly\_askew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@slightly\_askew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slightly_askew)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/33 "2012-08-16T15:40:08Z")
Have you caught her in the act? We have four cats and we occasionally found poop outside of the box, but we never knew which cat it was until this past Monday. One of our furry overlords was acting funny that morning, so I followed her around. It was obvious that she was constipated and was trying to go. I had read somewhere that if a cat is having difficulty or pain while urinating or pooping they may associate that with the litter box, so I didn’t want to force her into the litter box and make it have a bad association for her. I didn’t want to traumatize her too much, so I locked her in the mud room with the litter box. She did eventually poop on the floor, but at that point I was just happy that she pooped. This all happened early in the morning before I could get a vet on the phone. I eventually talked to the vet tech and was told just to keep an eye on here and make sure she has access to lots of water. The vet tech also suggested canned food, but with this particular cat, canned food goes and and comes right back out, so that really isn’t an option. Haven’t seen any poop outside of the box since then, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed. So anyway, just another possibility for the avoidance. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/34 "2012-08-16T15:46:41Z")
> [@slightly\_askew](#): > > Have you caught her in the act? We have four cats and we occasionally found poop outside of the box, but we never knew which cat it was until this past Monday. One of our furry overlords was acting funny that morning, so I followed her around. It was obvious that she was constipated and was trying to go. I had read somewhere that if a cat is having difficulty or pain while urinating or pooping they may associate that with the litter box, so I didn’t want to force her into the litter box and make it have a bad association for her. I didn’t want to traumatize her too much, so I locked her in the mud room with the litter box. She did eventually poop on the floor, but at that point I was just happy that she pooped. This all happened early in the morning before I could get a vet on the phone. I eventually talked to the vet tech and was told just to keep an eye on here and make sure she has access to lots of water. The vet tech also suggested canned food, but with this particular cat, canned food goes and and comes right back out, so that really isn’t an option. Haven’t seen any poop outside of the box since then, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed. > > So anyway, just another possibility for the avoidance. Caught her on webcam. 🙂 And it can’t be constipation. She’s doing it every day (well, not today, so far.) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/35 "2012-08-16T15:54:37Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > One of mine used to have the same problem. Then I decided to scoop out the litter every single day. No more problem. Ditto. We have 2 cats and 3 boxes. One of them started shitting on the floor (but still peeing in the box) so I started scooping them everyday and the floor-shitting stopped immediately. Now it only happens if I miss a day. But that doesn’t appear to be the OP’s problem. Good luck, **Ogre**! ---
**Author:** ![spacemandave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@spacemandave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spacemandave)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437/36 "2012-08-16T16:14:07Z")
As I outlined in a [previous post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=622761), we had a similar problem with a cat of similar age. We tried everything, and I mean everything. Beyond what I outlined in that old post, we tried every piece of advice given by anyone in as systematic a way as possible. In the end, after about 9 months of effort, we just gave up and made the cat an outdoor kitty. I hated the idea of him being an outdoor cat, and he has indeed caused some trouble out there. But it was either: 1) make him an outdoor cat, 2) give him away, 3) send him to a shelter to await certain death. Since no one wanted an adult cat who poops on the floor, and don’t think he deserves the death penalty for his crimes, we went with the outdoor option. He recently killed a male cardinal that used to hang out in our backyard, much to our dismay, so we’ve outfitted him with a collar with two bells and a jangly name tag that will hopefully give warning to any creatures he stalks. He’s got a cat door that leads to the garage where he has a cat bed and fresh food and water, and he mainly keeps to the back yard most of the time. Our lives have improved dramatically since his banishment, including, I believe, his. He spent the summer eating cicadas and keeping our garden free of rabbits and moles. He mostly sticks to our yard, as our neighbors also have cats or dogs in their yards, so the surrounding territory is pretty much claimed. It wasn’t our preferred solution, but it’s better than it used to be. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gah-cat-who-poops-on-the-floor-wut-do/631437.md?page=1)